For the second day in a row, Jaune felt like he was going to burn up. The sun beat at his head and shoulders relentlessly.
He had slept on the roof, since he wanted to avoid Nora for as long as possible.
Now, he was face to face with her. He knew how she fought. In fact, he knew it so well it was almost frightening.
Nora was a brute force he had no idea how to deal with.
The hammer cracked against his shield, forcing him back. By the time he had recovered, he had no choice, but to block the next strike.
He couldn't meet her head on.
He knew that, and yet, he had no way out.
He couldn't dodge, not with his armor and shield slowing him down.
And yet, without them, he would be defenseless.
A single solid hit would be enough to end the fight.
Even without Nora using her electricity on anything other than herself, he was already losing.
That reactive armor idea Pyrrha had sure would have come in handy.
But even with it, Nora would have probably been able to dominate the arena with ease.
After all, she had all the strengths of a heavy hitter and none of the weaknesses.
Normally, Grimm with the level of brute force Nora could wield would be slow and easy to hit, but for Nora, it was the opposite. She was faster and more agile than Jaune.
Luckily, she wasn't fighting strategically. If she tried to corner him, it would be over in an instant.
Jaune felt like his teammate was playing with him. She single-mindedly continued to attack him, probably thinking that she would need nothing more to win.
She wasn't entirely wrong.
What did Pyrrha teach him about fighting enemies with overwhelming power? To end it quickly? He couldn't do that. To draw the fight out? Nora could easily outlast him, especially in this heat. To use her power against her?
That might actually work.
Instead of blocking, he tried angling his shield so that the hammer would continue its movement. He felt a sharp pain in his wrist, but he also saw an opening in the minute time it took Nora to stop the hammer and rear back for her next attack.
In that instant, he lunged forward, sword-first right into the center of Nora's body.
His sword was stopped in place, while he himself continued moving. Nora had let go of her hammer with her right hand, and caught the sword. She swung, while gripping the sword, but because she only used one hand, it was slower. Just slow enough for Jaune to close the distance completely and ram Magnhild's handle with his shield.
The hammer was deflected and he had just enough time to kick Nora with both legs and wrench his sword from her hand.
It was at this point that he realized something. Against a weapon with as much reach as Magnhild, getting close to the incredibly strong girl wielding it was his only choice.
It was a horrible idea.
He reached over to his left side with his shield and ducked, the hammer glancing off and knocking him off balance, however, he forced his legs to keep carrying him forward, ignoring the pain from pushing them to their limits.
As Nora reared back for another strike, he saw his opportunity and instead of attacking or blocking the hammer, he put his shield in front of him and crashed into her.
It was at this point that he realized something he should have a long time ago.
He was heavier. Nora may be stronger, but he theoretically had her beat in terms of leverage.
Then, he had a very stupid though. He dropped his sword and shield, grabbed Magnhild, then pulled with all his strength.
Naturally, Nora held on, which was exactly what he had counted on.
She held her ground, but he pulled to the side, which gave him the slightest bit of yield, which he focused all of his power on.
Nora's adjusted her stance, giving him just enough slack to change the direction he was pulling in from left to up and right.
She couldn't keep up and her feet were lifted off the ground as Jaune swung her in a circle.
Okay. Now what?
It seemed like a really good idea at the time, but he realized that he couldn't keep spinning like this forever. He was already starting to get dizzy.
Then, he felt a white-hot pain course through his body. His muscles locked up and he stumbled and fell, still holding onto the hammer and, by extension, Nora.
He couldn't move. The electricity coursing through him was too powerful.
Nora got to her feet, still keeping a hand on the hammer. When he got a look at her, her hair was on end. Even in this situation, he couldn't help but smile.
That was all it took for Nora to figure it out. The color drained from her face. The electricity stopped and after a second, he regained control over his body.
"You know this is broadcasted in all four kingdoms," he said through his ragged breath as Nora's hand found its way to her hair.
Jaune felt like laughing. Such a ridiculous thing was going to give him the chance he needed.
He pushed himself up and rolled back before Nora had recovered. His hand found his sword and he rose to his feet. Nora swung her hammer, but he easily dodged away from the careless attack. Then, he took a step forward, feinted attacking Nora's hands on the hammer, then turned his entire body away and altered the direction of his blade, hitting Nora across her neck with as much force as he could muster.
It didn't do any damage, but he continued attacking. Nora was too distracted to block properly, giving him a few more openings.
He didn't take any of them. Instead, he used them all to move to a position where he could strike at the hand that was holding the hammer.
In her surprise, Nora dropped it upon being struck.
That was it.
He knew she wasn't going to use her electricity again, so he jumped on top of her, forcing her to the ground.
She was weaker. She wasn't even using her semblance to enhance her strength anymore. It was all he needed.
Using the experience he gained in his last fight, he positioned himself in a way that would protect his chances of reproduction, and wrapped his hands around Nora's neck.
He squeezed. Nora struggled, but she couldn't overcome the weight difference without her semblance. She dragged her nails over his arms, but he continued squeezing.
Seeing what she went through was terrifying. She thrashed and struggled for breath, but he didn't let her have any.
She scratched at him, but his arms were longer and she couldn't reach his eyes.
He could hardly believe the noises she made came from a human. It was the first time he had heard a person suffocating. He never imagined it would be this violent.
It took too long. Far too long. He could feel the strength leaving his arms, but he persevered.
Finally, the match was called in his favor.
He couldn't look Nora in the eyes. He let her go and quickly exited the arena.
He barely made it to a toilet before he threw up.